I started this website in 1998 for the course BIOS 353 Virology at Lehigh University, and I updated it for ten years, through spring 2007, with a few updates inserted since then. This course website was selected in 2004 for inclusion in the Natioanl Leadership Resource Database by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, "To express our appreciation for your contribution to our efforts to promote liberal education and to engage students in learning for our common health."
In this advanced course, we will study viruses at the levels of their molecular biology and genetics, and their interactions with the host organism. Our coverage will focus almost entirely on viruses that infect humans and cause serious disease. We will take a comparative approach, and ask questions from a biophysical and evolutionary perspective.
Useful websites for up-to-date viral disease information are the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (including its journal Emerging Infectious Diseases) and the World Health Organization. There are many journals publishing new virology research; the ones we will use the most in the course are Science , Nature, Journal of Virology , Journal of General Virology , Virology , and Journal of Infectious Diseases. Updated 2009-2012 information on influenza ia available at Flu.gov.
Course Grading : Half of your grade will be based on participation, discussions, assignments, quizzes, and presentations during the semester: 1. "professional level discussion/assignment" days during January and February; 2. "short journal article" presentations in late March and early April; 3. "long journal article presentations" in mid-late April; and 4. "announced quizzes" as deemed appropriate. The other half of your grade will be based on a final exam in May. You should establish a notebook for all of the material in this course. Build the notebook into a thorough, complete document (your own "Virology Textbook") by the end of the semester. The final exam will be "open notebook".
January Course Organization and Introduction
January Introduction (continued), with Biophysical Calculations
Januaryn Virus Classification and Structures
January Virus Classification and Structures (continued)
January Attachment and Penetration into Cells
January Professional-level Discussion and/or Assignment
January Replication of Herpesviruses (dsDNA genome)
January Replication of Poxviruses (dsDNA genome)
February Professional-level Discussion and/or Assignment
February Replication of Picornaviruses (Pos.-sense ssRNA genome)
February Replication of Orthomyxoviruses (Neg.-sense ssRNA genome)
February Professional-level Discussion and/or Assignment
February Replication of Reoviruses (dsRNA genome)
February Replication of Retroviruses (ssRNA genome, reverse transcribing)
February Professional-level Discussion and/or Assignment
February Immune Response to Viral Infection
February Viral Vaccines
February Professional-level Discussion and/or Assignment
February Antiviral Drugs
February Antiviral Drugs (cont.)
March Spring Break begins. Information for Student Presentations
March Influenza Epidemiology and Evolution
March Influenza Epidemiology and Evolution (continued)
March Influenza Epidemiology and Evolution (continued)
March HIV Epidemiology and Evolution, Part 1
March HIV Epidemiology and Evolution, Part 2
March HIV Epidemiology and Evolution, Part 3
March-April Student Presentations from Emerging Infectious Diseases
April Student Presentations from Virology, Journal of Virology, and Journal of Infectious Diseases
2012: J. A. Sands
Link to Fall 2005 Genetics course.